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October 29, 2004

Why Do Republicans Hate Democracy?

When Catherine Herold received mail from the Ohio Republican Party earlier this year, she refused it.

The longtime Barberton Democrat wanted no part of the mailing and figured that by refusing it, the GOP would have to pay the return postage.

What she didn't count on was the returned mail being used to challenge the validity of her voter registration.

Herold,who is assistant to the senior vice president and provost at the University of Akron,was one of 976 Summit County voters whose registrations were challenged last week by local Republicans on behalf of the state party.

She went to the Board of Elections on Thursday morning to defend her right to vote and found herself among an angry mob -- people who had to take time off work to defend their right to vote.

After hearing some of the protests, the board voted unanimously to dismiss all 976 challenges.

Here's the procedure. The Republicans send a registered letter from the Republican party to the address of a Democrat. The Democrat, not wanting to stand in line in the post office to get Republican propaganda, never signs for the letter. The Republicans then use the Democrat's failure to get the letter to challenge her eligibility to vote, on the theory that it "proves" she no longer lives at that address. That's beneath contempt -- which is exactly what the Republicans feel for democracy. Consider this exchange from the hearing, involving one of the Republicans who filed the challenges:

The angry voters had the Republicans on the defensive.

"Why'd you do it?'' one challenged voter shouted out at Calhoun. "Who the hell are you?'' the man asked.

"What the hell do you care?'' replied Calhoun, an attorney.

What the hell does she care? Perhaps she cares about exercising her right to vote, the U.S. being (ostensibly) a democracy and all.

The people filing the challenges should be prosecuted and sent to jail. The challenge forms explicitly state that filing a false challenge is a felony.

I'm not asserting that dirty tricks aren't going on on both sides. I am asserting that it's a tad hypocritical of both sides to act holier-than-thou about it. The dirty tricks very clearly cut both ways.